Canyang Secret Realm.
Within the well was a world of its own, a separate realm.
Only, this place had no sky, no earth, no sun, moon, or stars—not even the natural Yin-Yang and Five Elements. There was only darkness.
Endless darkness, within which floated a woman.
The woman wore a set of dark crimson formal attire, floating in the void darkness as if adrift in a vast ocean.
Her features were stunningly beautiful, but in a peculiar way—like a rose blooming in the darkness, both mysterious and bewitching, dignified and noble. Yet this nobility was not of sacred light, but rather an evil, dark nobility that made one dare not trespass.
Only,
this woman showed no signs of life whatsoever, as if dead, utterly motionless.
Suddenly,
within this endless darkness, a ray of light appeared.
It was a bloody light.
The bloody light suffused the darkness, then transformed into a sun and moon—or something resembling both, a sun containing a moon, a moon containing a sun.
This sun and moon were also blood-red.
A woman coalesced from within the bloody sun and moon.
Her features were also beautiful, but in a tragic, poignant way—so beautiful it eclipsed all else in the world, as if daring to compete with nature's myriad splendors, yet so beautiful it was heartbreaking.
A blood-red robe.
Three thousand strands of white hair.
Blood staining the firmament.
Ethereal sun and moon.
It was none other than World-Venerable Lady, Jun Xuanji.
She appeared, gazing at the formally attired woman floating in the endless darkness. She stared like this for a long, long time before finally speaking: "Can... Canyang Wuyou...
You...
Why...
Why have you too chosen to slumber..." "You said...
you would end all this...
You said it...
So why choose slumber now..." "You know...
what is destined to happen will always happen, right?"
"You've finally realized this cannot be changed, much less ended, haven't you?"
On Jun Xuanji's tragically beautiful face, her lovely eyes were forever filled with that same hesitation, that same bewilderment.
"His appearance...
Was it your deliberate doing, or an unintended mistake...
Is it fate?
Or is it karma?"
"What exactly...
do you want? To end all this, or...
to make it all begin anew..." "What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Or perhaps...
what am I trying to do?"
As she spoke, Jun Xuanji closed her eyes, as if sensing something, murmuring: "You know...
it has already begun...
I can feel it, though faintly, but I'm certain—it has begun..." "The great calamity of ages, born of heaven and earth; three cycles of reincarnation, manifesting through eternity; past lives and present, karma revealed; whose fate is whose depends on heaven..." "The vanished era...
is almost here...
The heaven and earth buried by that person...
will soon appear..." "Do you know?"
Jun Xuanji opened her eyes again, looking at Canyang Wuyou, saying: "Just when he was being...
judged by heaven and earth...
I...
I suddenly remembered some things. Very bad...
very bad things..." "Things about me, about my True Self..." "I once found my True Self..." "But I buried my True Self again..." "I chose to forget, and I chose to lose myself...
Do you know why?"
"Because...
because my True Self...
is like yours...
also...
also has a drop of that person's blood."
"Heh..." "It's terrifying, isn't it?"
"You have a drop of that person's blood, and I...
I also have a drop..." "Who knows...
just how many drops of that person's blood exist?"
"You used...
that person's blood...
to create many who are not that person."
"Who knows if others...
might be like you..." "Can you imagine...
when the vanished era reappears in this age, and many, many...
who are not that person emerge...
how terrifying it will be?"
"When I...
regained my True Self, do you know...
what phrase left the deepest impression on me?"
"How many Original Selves, how many Ego Selves, and how many True Selves..." "Heh..." "I didn't say that..." "That person said it..." "Heh...
It's terrifying, isn't it?"
"Perhaps, from the very beginning...
that person knew..." "Perhaps, from the very beginning, when we chose to end all this, it wasn't an ending at all, but a beginning..." "Karma...
is both cause and effect, effect and cause. What is truly cause and what is effect—who can truly distinguish?" "You chose to slumber..." "Have you sensed it too?"
"Are you...
also escaping?"
"Perhaps...
I should slumber like you..." "Slumbering, at least...
won't sink me deeper..." "Only...
the sea of bitterness...
has no shore...
never will..." ...
Above the clouds.
Endless void.
Above the void lay the forbidden zone of heaven.
Here, winds rose and clouds swirled.
The wind was a tempest strong enough to tear everything apart.
The clouds were chaotic clouds capable of devouring all.
Several days had passed since Gu Qingfeng's judgment. The void had long since returned to normal, and the Three Thousand Great Daos had long since departed.
But two representatives of the Great Daos still remained here.
One was Nailuo of the Demonic Dao.
The other was Jialuo of the Witch Dao.
Nailuo said: "He's dead..." "Dead..." Jialuo responded faintly: "At least, it appears so..." "And it's only an appearance."
Jialuo gave Nailuo a deep look but did not respond.
A moment of silence.
Nailuo asked again: "Do you wish him dead?"
"I don't know."
After responding, Jialuo countered: "And you?"
"I don't know either."
Nailuo gazed at the firmament, murmuring: "The Heavenly Dao seemed to know this outcome long ago."
"It is the Heavenly Dao, after all. How could it not know? If not for that, this time wouldn't have been just for show."
"The Heavenly Dao might deduce the outcome, but it cannot deduce whether he will die or live."
"Perhaps."
"Who knows?"
"No one knows."
"He should never have appeared."
"Yet he appeared nonetheless..." "A being like him, an existence like his, has no karma to speak of—at least, not before."
"Thus, no one can deduce his future based on karma."
"He is an anomaly, an anomaly created by Canyang Wuyou using the Blood of Original Sin."
"Was it her deliberate doing?
Or an unintended mistake?"
"Who knows?"
"No one knows."
"They...
are pitiful."
"Who isn't pitiful, caught in the karma of the Era Without Dao?"
"It seems...
Kunlun is also entangled in the karma of the Era Without Dao."
"Kunlun, the Sacred Ground...
I'm afraid many, many existences, many people, are entangled in the karma of the Era Without Dao..." "And you are no exception."
As Jialuo's words fell, Nailuo responded with the same phrase: "And you are no exception."
"You are no ordinary Demonic Dao practitioner."
"You are no ordinary Witch Dao practitioner."
"Long, long ago, I knew someone whose name was also Jialuo, only there was no Witch Dao back then."
"Long ago, I also knew someone named Nailuo. Coincidentally, there was no Demonic Dao then either."
A few words from the author:
The Great Northwest arc is finally complete...
Everything that needed to be written has been written, all foreshadowing laid...
Next, Lord Gu will enter the Divine Land...
To continue his flamboyant, show-off ways.
Now, to answer a few frequently asked questions.
Many often ask me: How many female leads are in this book? Who is the female lead? Will there be a harem?
Readers familiar with my work know I don't write harems, nor do I write a designated female lead. So, there's no female lead number one in this book—they're all female lead number two.
Another question: How long will this book be?
How many words?
Preliminary estimate: at least over five million words...
Probably more, because the outline is long. What's written so far is probably only a quarter.
Another question: This book's main style isn't passionate (passionate), but rather showing off. Yes, showing off.
I've written enough passionate tales before and don't want to focus on fighting and killing anymore...
In this book, Gu Qingfeng's character positioning is a handsome man who shows off.
Regarding the plot direction in the Divine Land, it will roughly revolve around the protagonist's identities.
Don't think the protagonist only has two identities. He's not just Lord Chixiao, not just Nine Nethers Emperor—there are many more...
The first identity, Lord Chixiao, will be exposed in the Divine Land. The true and false monarchs will meet.
Various big shots from the Chixiao Sect will make their appearances.
The women Gu Qingfeng flirted with back in the Divine Land will also be... cleaned up.
Various prodigies, various immortal nobles, various Heavenly Mandates will all come knocking at his door.